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NaturalisticSpirituality is a term for a variety of religious and/or philosophical beliefs which pertain to the human experience of the numinous.

Chief among modern forms of naturalisticspirituality is Pantheism, but the term may also apply to the beliefs of some pagans, many Taoists, some Buddhists, a number of Hindus, and a variety of non-affiliated independent thinkers who base their spiritual experience directly on Nature itself rather than traditional deities and the supernatural.

NaturalisticSpirituality (NS) is chiefly concerned with finding ways to access traditional spiritual feelings without the inclusion of elements incompatible with science and a broad naturalism.

It is often maintained that the intent of such individuals in describing themselves as 'pantheist' is chiefly to identify themselves as adherents of a naturalisticspirituality by using an established religious term.

Opponents of naturalisticpantheism allege that this constitutes an intentional misuse of terminology, and an attempt to justify (The doctrine or belief that there is no God) atheism by mislabeling it as pantheism.

General acceptance of naturalisticpantheism has been undermined to some extent by the existence of considerable disagreement within the pantheist community as to whether or not ideas such as "spirituality" are truly applicable to a naturalistic worldview.

NaturalisticPantheism is a form of Pantheism which holds that the universe, although unconscious and non-sentient as a whole, is a meaningful focus for humanspirituality.

Opponents of naturalisticpantheism allege that it constitutes an intentional misuse of terminology, and an attempt to justify atheism by mislabeling it as pantheism.

General acceptance of naturalisticpantheism has been undermined to some extent by the existence of considerable disagreement within their community as to whether or not ideas such as "spirituality" are truly applicable to a naturalistic worldview.

NaturalisticSpirituality is a term for a variety of religious and/or philosophical beliefs which pertain to the human experience of the (additional info and facts about numinous) numinous.

NaturalisticSpirituality (NS) is chiefly concerned with finding ways to access traditional spiritual feelings without the inclusion of elements incompatible with (A particular branch of scientific knowledge) science and a broad ((philosophy) the doctrine that the world can be understood in scientific terms without recourse to spiritual or supernatural explanations) naturalism.

Adherents of NS are generally (additional info and facts about atheistic) atheistic and scientifically-oriented in most aspects, with their primary difference from other hardline naturalists being their belief that the abandonment of (An irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear) superstition does not necessarily entail the abandonment of spirituality.

Spiritual experience, in Christianity and other non-naturalistic traditions, is interpreted as putting the individual in direct contact with the agent/creator, or with at least some aspect of the spiritual realm.

And unity, of course, is the essence of spirituality.

Considerable research is underway to pin down the neural correlates of the spiritual response, for instance by imaging the brains of meditators and describing the neural effects of hallucinogenic (or "entheogenic") drugs in generating experiences of ecstasy and unity.

The spiritual experience - the experience of meaning, connection and joy, often informed by philosophy or religion - is, from a naturalistic perspective, a state of the physical person, not evidence for a higher realm or non-physical essence.

Faced with all this, the naturalist, if she is capable of letting go into a non-cognitive response, may discover feelings of profound awe, delight, and surrender, feelings typical of religious revelation but now felt in the context of a world view consistent with the most hard-edged empiricism.

Part of the spiritual experience is to leave the realm of thought for a non-discriminative state (or at least a state in which cognitive distinctions play a lesser role).

Spiritual experience is taken to be the direct appreciation of the ultimate truth about the world as given in the tradition, a way to transcend one's limited everyday perspective in the quest for meaning, unity, and serenity.

Finally, spiritual experience, in Christianity and other non-naturalistic traditions, is interpreted as putting the individual in direct contact with the agent/creator or with some aspect of the spiritual realm.

Spiritual experience is taken to be a special way of knowing ultimate truths about the world, a way quite different from ordinary empirical modes of knowing.

The Brights' Movement Forums > Going Part Way(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)

My immediate response was to take issue with the phrase “spiritual growth.” I felt it implied growing spiritually was a good thing, whereas people with naturalistic worldviews would be skeptical of there even being a spiritual realm, and certainly not something where growth is a desirable quality.

It is true that some claiming to be spiritual would also claim to be naturalistic but I think our sense of wonder or awe is absolutely physical in origin and so does not warrant a description appealing to spirit.

Personally I don't like the "growth" bit of spiritual growth, since to me it suggests the path-to-enlightenment attitude of the new-age and buddhists etc which is different to the attitudes of (many) Brights and christians etc. I'd prefer "spritual path" or just "spirituality".

We feel a profound reverence and awe for these, similar to the reverence and awe that believers in more conventional gods feel towards their deity, but without grovelling worship or belief that it has a mind or personality that we can influence through prayer or ritual.

Our ethics are humanistic and green, our metaphysics naturalist and scientific, but to these we add the emotional and aesthetic dimensions which humans need to joyfully embrace their place in the universe and to motivate their concern for nature and human welfare.

We need a spirituality in keeping with this new knowledge, not one that seeks to deny parts of it.

Some members of the APA felt that by including both spirituality and religion in its name, Division 36 would explicitly recognize that people are frequently seek spiritual fulfillment outside the boundaries of organized religion.

Others believed that the psychology of religion naturally includes spirituality, and therefore, spirituality was not needed as part of the title.

All that links Brights is the naturalistic element in their worldview, the freedom from the supernatural and mystical. Each Bright's view of the world around them is the result of their own life experiences, and of thinking deeply and critically about life and the universe in which we live.

Nature Reverence aspires to bring together everyone with a reverent naturalistic standpoint, whatever label they call themselves – people who celebrate life on this earth, who feel a deep attachment to and active concern for Nature and awe and wonder at the Universe, and who respect human rights, science, logic and evidence.

They offer a framework for spirituality that is in harmony with the needs of world peace, human survival and planetary health, as well as with the findings of science.

We officially use a naturalistic vocabulary that is most widely acceptable to members, which means avoiding certain words such as God, divine, religion, church, prayer, holy and so on.

We feel a profound wonder and awe for these, similar to the reverence that believers in more conventional gods feel towards their deity, but without antropomorphic worship or belief that Nature has a mind or personality that we can influence through prayer or ritual.

We need a spirituality in keeping with this new knowledge, not one that seeks to deny or explain away parts of it.

The WPM aims to provide a spiritual and social "home base" for people who love Nature and the Universe but do not believe in supernatural entities.

www.pantheism.net (1269 words)

Monism(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)

Theological arguments can be made for this within Christianity, for example the Roman Catholic doctrine of "divine simplicity", as well as in many other religions (Hinduism and Judaism in particular).

Historically, monism has been promoted in spiritual terms on several occasions, notably by Ernst Haeckel.

There is a growing undercurrent of monism in the modern spiritual and philosophical climate, evidenced by increasing Western fascination with Hinduism (including Vedanta and Yoga), Taoism, Buddhism, Pantheism, Zen, and similar systems of thought which explore the mystical and spiritual elements of a monistic philosophy.

Failing to distinguish between metaphysical and naturalistic transcendence, we mistakenly take reports of enlightenment's transcendence to mean that enlightenment is superior to anything our body can provide.

This opens the door for an alternative, naturalistic account of enlightenment as a relative PCE that is only naturalistically transcendent.

www.performanceconsulting.org /soma.htm (960 words)

Humanist: Focusing on spirituality - Letters to the editor(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)

But after reading "Spirituality without Faith" by Thomas W. Clark in the January/ February 2002 Humanist, I know now that it usually involves a belief in humans' dual nature (physical and nonphysical) and also the attempt to reach that side not ruled by physical reality.

Clark presents clearly the characteristics of traditional spirituality and its importance in building communities and bringing comfort to those worrying about existential questions.

That's the religious aspect of it, which is, of course, at variance with the humanist stand of naturalism and scientific inquiry, as well as the acceptance of no a priori meaning to life.

Science & Theology News - How to be a religious atheist(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-18)

So there are certainly many ways in which a naturalisticspirituality can be expressed, both by oneself and in connection with other people.

The understanding of ourselves as complicated biological mechanisms is rapidly approaching, which doesn’t mean we’ll know the full story for how many, 50, 100 years, but it’s rapidly becoming clearer that we are fully material, physical creatures, as a part of the natural world.

The history of the science-and-religion dialogue is for religion to retreat to ever-more-abstract concepts of divinity in the face of the filling in of the naturalistic story of ourselves.

For those already in the naturalistic camp, Raymo's case for science, as opposed to wishful thinking, won't be revelatory, but his sharp dissection of New Age fads and resurgent fundamentalism is nevertheless instructive.

It is this entanglement that Raymo succeeds in making vivid and spiritually compelling, not only through his account of the successes of science, but in apposite quotes from poets such as Mary Oliver and Gerard Manley Hopkins, and from writers as diverse as Martin Buber, Teilhard de Chardin, and Nikos Kazantzakis.

But even though Raymo himself is pessimistic about the chances that a naturalisticspirituality will take hold, his personal revelations testify that even professional skeptics can find meaning and wonder in the world.

Personally I don't like using the term spirituality in terms of self actualization as I think it is very misleading.

Much has and is being written about naturalisticspirituality (or religious naturalism, as it’s more often called), for instance see Ursula Goodenough’s fine book, The Sacred Depths of Nature, and books by Don Cupitt and Loyal Rue.

I’ve got a page on naturalisticspirituality which has some links to active groups at the bottom.